Egg-stra Special Easter Baskets

I’ve always loved makin’ Easter baskets, ever since my children were little. It was my Aunt Peggy that taught me how to make these beautiful, over-the-top baskets. We would go to the toy house together, and she would show me how to put them together.

To this day, I still love puttin’ together those Easter baskets, only now I do it for my grandchildren. In fact, I wish could do it more than one time a year. There are so many ways to make them. When they’re kids, you can make beautiful baskets filled with toys and goodies that don’t cost much money at all. Of course, as the kids start getting older and get more interested in electronics and the like, they can be very expensive. But the kids love going through their baskets even more than I love makin’ them, and it makes it all worth it. It takes a long time for them to get through it all; it’s always like a mini treasure hunt. I just love seein’ their faces when the discover all the goodies hidden inside.

If you’re lookin’ for ideas for what to put in Easter baskets for your own children or grandchildren, try some of these ideas that were popular with Bobby and Jamie and now with my grandboys, as well as some ideas that would be great for the girls in your life:

Baseballs and baseball gloves

Sports cards (you know, the kind with their favorite athletes and their stats)

Video games

Stuffed animals

Lipsticks

Perfumes

Jewelry

Dolls and doll clothing

Books

Yo-yo’s

Jacks

Jelly beans

Homemade caramels

Plastic eggs with money inside

I could go on forever, y’all!

Now, here are some of my best tips for makin’ sure those baskets are as pretty as they are full of fun. The best tip I can share is to shred some of those paper grocery bags and stuff those shreds right in the bottom of the basket. You want to fill it enough so that the goodies start at the top of the basket instead of sinkin’ to the bottom of the basket. Of course, you can always get a firm Easter grass if you prefer. It will make it look fuller and more organized. You don’t want any of those goodies to be too tucked away. I like everything on full display!

And one thing my basket-stuffin’ always calls for? A roll of tape. I always keep tape handy, so I can tape some of the toys and candies together. How cute is it when a stuffed bunny is holdin’ a chocolate bunny? It can happen with a little tape! I also use it to fasten some of the items to the handles. This helps give your basket a bit more structure and can also allow you to better display some of the smaller items. Now, you also don’t want to go in all willy-nilly. Be strategic, and plan where you want each item to be in the basket.

Lastly, to wrap up the presentation of these baskets is the wrappin’! I think the clear cellophane that comes in a variety of colors make for the prettiest baskets. If you have multiple children or grandchildren, you can color coordinate their gifts so they know which one belongs to whom. They also have cute printed ones with little bunnies or Easter eggs on them. There are so many options out there. And of course an Easter basket wouldn’t be complete without a big ol’ ribbon on it! I like to use a variety of ribbons to make beautiful bows and curly-cues.

I hope you’ll enjoy makin’ Easter baskets as much as I do, and I hope you enjoy watchin’ those precious smiles as those baskets are opened. Enjoy the time with your families, y’all. Those beautiful moments will make for beautiful memories. Happy Easter!

Paula Deen
- As a young girl growing up in Albany, Georgia, Paula Deen never dreamed she would become an American icon. As a young mother, Paula was living the American dream — married to her high school sweetheart and raising two adorable boys — when tragedy struck. Her parents died, her marriage failed and she began a prolonged battle with agoraphobia. With her boys in their teens and her family near homelessness, Paula took her last $200, reached deep inside her soul and started The Bag Lady, a home-based catering company that marked the start of Deen's professional cooking career. With sons Jamie and Bobby delivering lunch-and-love-in-a-bag, beginning in June 1989, Paula turned her life around by sharing what she knew best, traditional Southern cooking.